1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to spacers for creating uniform grout or mortar joints between courses of tiles and other materials, and more particularly to hollow tile spacers that are adapted to be embedded in the grout or mortar. Still more particularly, it is concerned with methods and means for constructing a family of light-weight, durable, resilient spacers for courses of tiles or the like adapted to be inserted into intersecting joint spaces between the courses, and to be left in place after the spaces have been filled with grout or mortar.
2. Prior Art
Originally considered primarily a decorative art form, ceramic tile has become a floor and wall covering of choice for residential office, commercial and even industrial installations. Increased popularity has created a growing need for ways of lowering the cost, minimizing the effort, and speeding the process of laying tile. Probably the single most expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming step in the tile laying operation is the manual placement of individual ceramic tiles in the courses and columns that define the chosen tile pattern. In recognition of the substantial potential savings to be made from improved tile-setting aids and methods, considerable attention has been focused on the devices and techniques employed by tile setters.
Typically, tile is set by applying a coat of cement or mastic to an underlying surface and placing the individual tile pieces side-by-side in contact with the cement or mastic material. Most commonly, adjacent tiles are spaced apart to define a more or less continuos army of grooves or joint spaces. When the cent or mastic cures the channels are filled with grout to form attractive, sealed joints. The joints contribute to the overall ornamental appearance of the ins on, prevent chipping of the tile edges, and serve to relieve forces that night otherwise cause the tiles or the grout to crack. For aesthetic effect and structural integrity, it is important tat the joints be straight and of uniform width. Historically, tile layers have employed tile spacing devices to create these joints. This invention has to do with improvements in such devices, and their use.
Tile spacers are well known in the tile setting trade. Over time, they have taken a variety of forms. Early ice employed a length of heavy cord or twine laid down between the tiles as they were being positioned. Once the cement or mastic cured, the cordage was removed and the joint cavity filled with a grout slurry. This crude technique was replaced by the use of small, solid in individual spacers made of resilient plastic materials or rubber. U.S. Pat. No. 2,031,684 illustrates a compressible rubber spacer designed to be inserted into inking or corner joint space between adjacent tees. Convincingly molded in four basic geometric plan shapes, crosses, xe2x80x9cVs,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cYs,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cTs,xe2x80x9d these spacers are inserted between adjacent courses of ceramic tiles as they are cemented to a floor, counter top or wall to create and maintain channels of uniform width. The uniformity of the joints"" width facilitates the tile layer""s truing the joint line over the length of the adjacent tile courses.
Thinner than the ties, the solid ""684 were initially left in the joint and grouted over. That practice was quickly abandoned, however, when it was discovered that some of the spacers float to the suds causing the grout to appear discolored, and worse, being resilient, causing the overlying and surrounding grout to crack and break away. Experience led to the firm conclusion that solid rubber or plastic cannot be left in the grout joint. For all of the advantages the solid spacers afforded in simplifying and facilitating the tile placing process, the requirement that they be removed prior to grouting made the installation process tedious, time consuming and expensive.
One approach to satisfying the requirement to remove the spacers resulted in the development of a variety of spacer designs adapted for easy removal from the grout joint. Another led to the provision of a number of shed tools specie adapted for prying solid spacers from grout joints. An example of a solid spacer designed for ease of removal is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,930,135. This device was larger than the ""684 spacer and was irk to be removed from the joint space before grouting by means of a tool such as a screwdriver or awl or by using a specially designed hook. While somewhat enhancing the removal process, neither the improved spaces nor the hooks and prying tools effectively reduced the tedium or the time involved in the removal process.
The invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,668 was intended to provide an alternative to manually removed sacs such as the ""684 and ""135 devices. This spacer is made of a solid, semi-rigid, foamed polymeric material adapted to be melted and burned with a flame from a torch after the mastic or cement is cured. Aside from the danger of personal injury and property damage inherent in the use of fire on a jobsite, the removal of the ""668 spacer is still labor intensive and slow.
It has long been recognized by those skilled in the art that there is an unfilled need for a resilient spacer that does not have to be removed or destroyed before grouting and that can be left permanently imbedded in the grout or mortar joint without long-term undesirable results. A number of alternatives to the solid rubber or plastic spacer have been proposed in attempts to fill that need. None of these is entirely suitable for the intended purpose, and none effectively lowers the cost, the effort, or speeds the process of laying tile. By way of several examples, U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,257 discloses a family of rigid hollow sheet met and open mesh spaces adapted for insertion into the mortar between courses of bricks. U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,877 shows a V-shaped metal masonry joint spacer having openings allowing mortar to pass through the spacer U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,735 teaches a tile-spacer fabricated from a metal strip and adapted to allow grout to enter and cure the spacer body. These alternative constructions suffer from a multitude of deficiencies. Most significantly, none of them affords the tile setter the resiliency and flexibility required for making the repeated fine adjusts to the age and spacing of the grout joint while the ties are being positioned.
Given the state of the prior art, one of the objects of the subject invention is the provision of a family of lightweight, durable, resilient tile spacers adapted for insertion into intersecting joint spaces between tile courses, and to be left in place after the spaces have been filled with grout.
A second object of the invention is to provide spacers having the aforementioned characteristics that neither suffer nor cause any undesirable results when they are immersed in grout and left in place after the grout cures. In particular, the subject tile spacer must not cause discoloration or cracking and faking of the cured grout.
The subject invention reflects a perceived need for and has for another of its objects the provision of a durable, resilient, weight tile spacer that is inexpensive to manufacture, and requires a minimum of skill, time and effort to use.
Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved tile spacer of the type described here that avoids or overcomes the various defects and deficiencies of the prior art spacers.
Still another object is the provision of a tile spacer constriction capable of being incorporated in spacers of all of the basic configurations needed for residential, office, commercial and industrial tile installations.
Yet another object is the provision of a family of novel tile spacers and methods and means for producing and utilizing them for facilitating the laying of tile with uniform and accurately aligned grout joints
The subject invention comprises a family of light-weight, durable, resilient tile spacers adapted for insertion into intersecting joint spaces between tile courses and to be left in place after the spaces have been filled with grout. Each spacer has a plurality of hollow, preferably generally race track-shaped limbs that project radially into the intersecting joint spaces. The side walls of the limbs are compressed by the tiles forming the joint spaces, the amount of compression being limited by the abutment of structural elements formed on the confronting inner faces of the side walls with stops positioned within the limbs. In one embodiment of the invention, a pair of structural elements are mounted to the confronting faces of respective side walls and abut one another or an intervening structural element. In another, each structural element is mounted to both of the side walls and the structural elements abut one another or an intervening stop.
The top and bottom of the spacer are open, and the structural elements and stops occupy a minimal amount of space within the limbs, leaving a substantial cavity effectively extending the length and width of the spacer. In inserting the spacers in the joint spaces, the tile layer need only take care to position them below what will be the level of the surface of the grout in the filled joint. During the grouting process, the watery grout slurry fills the submerged cavities in the limbs and upon hardening and curing permanently seals and immobilizes the spacers.
In addition to those mentioned above, other objects, features, advantages, and applications of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the construction and operation of what are presently considered to be its preferred embodiments. Throughout the description, reference is made to the accompanying Drawing, in which: